Isaiah Whitehead’s lifelong dream is upon him.
Seton Hall’s star guard from Coney Island has decided to remain in the NBA draft and will formally announce the decision on Wednesday, his mother, Ericka Rambert, confirmed to The Post Tuesday night.
The decision, which followed weeks of speculation, means Whitehead will bypass the final two years of his college career. The 6-foot-4 point guard wrestled with the decision, but on Friday he opted to become a pro and signed with agent Andy Miller on Monday, according to Rambert.
“I think it’s a great time for Isaiah, right now as opposed to next year,” Rambert said. “He accomplished a lot at Seton Hall last year. I think he has proven himself and he’s ready for the NBA.
“He knows he can play in the NBA. It’s his dream. When your dreams come knocking at the door, you need to go fulfill them.”
Whitehead and his family received positive feedback from a number of teams, sources said, that he will be a late first-round pick. The fact he isn’t on many mock drafts until the second round didn’t scare them off.
Whitehead, from Lincoln High School, which produced Stephon Marbury, Lance Stephenson and Sebastian Telfair, performed well at the NBA combine in Chicago and took part in a workout with the 76ers, before canceling subsequent workouts with the Pacers, Bulls and Celtics because of a nagging hamstring injury. He has a workout set with the Pacers on June 2. The Nets, who interviewed him at the combine, are said to be very interested, though they only have a second-round pick, No. 55 overall.
“It’s my opinion that Isaiah Whitehead will fall somewhere between 23 and 35. All you have to do is talk to Big East coaches, who will tell you he had every right to be the Big East Player of the Year,” ESPN draft analyst Fran Fraschilla said. “He is a big, strong combo guard who can create his own shot, and he’s also, outside of Ben Simmons, as good a passer as there is in this draft.
“If you watched the way Isaiah Whitehead played against Villanova and Xavier, two of the best defensive teams in the country, you’d have to be an idiot to think this kid can’t play in the NBA.”
Whitehead enjoyed a memorable sophomore year at Seton Hall. He was named to the All-Big East first team and led the Pirates to their first NCAA Tournament in a decade and first Big East Tournament title in 23 years. Seton Hall would’ve been ranked nationally had he returned, potentially in the top 15. Instead, the Pirates will have to move on without him, albeit with an experienced and talented roster led by rising juniors Khadeen Carrington, Ismael Sanogo, Angel Delgado and Desi Rodriguez.
“It’s exciting and it’s a testament to how hard he worked and how hard we worked with him,” Seton Hall coach Kevin Willard said. “I hope he looks back at his time at Seton Hall and has great memories, because he helped create some great ones.”