Seton Hall sophomore point guard Isaiah Whitehead has at least one NBA workout scheduled for early June and all signs point to him remaining in the NBA Draft.
The 6-foot-4 point guard from Brooklyn has a workout scheduled for June 2 with the Indiana Pacers, a source with direct knowledge told SNY.tv.
Whitehead has already worked out for Philadelphia, but cancelled workouts with Indiana, Boston and Chicago because of a hamstring injury.
Wednesday is the deadline for underclassmen without agents to withdraw from the draft. Whitehead has said he will make a formal announcement of his decision this week.
Back To May 24th Patience Is A Virtue Last Tweet Until Then ✌��️
– Isaiah Whitehead (@IsaiahW_15) May 18, 2016
//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
DraftExpress.com currently projects Whitehead as the No. 58 pick, while NBADraft.net has the former Lincoln High School star doing undrafted.
Still, Whitehead improved his stock with his play at the NBA Draft Combine. ESPN’s Fran Fraschilla said on a recent episode of The 4 Quarters Podcast that Whitehead — along with DeAndre’ Bembry and Denzel Valentine — might be the best passers in the Draft outside of potential No. 1 pick Ben Simmons.
In the Big East, Providence sophomore Ben Bentil announced he will remain in the Draft, while Xavier sophomore Trevon Bluiett will return to school. Villanova junior guard Josh Hart is expected to announce sometime after a Tuesday workout with Atlanta.
SNY.tv originally reported that Whitehead would remain in the Draft, but sources later said he changed his mind and was expected to return to school.
One source said Whitehead went “back and forth” and there was a “tug of war” over his decision before he changed course again.
Whitehead told SNY.tv at the NBA Combine that he would declare for the draft “100 percent” if he was guaranteed to be a first-round pick. At the Sixers workout, the Brooklyn native softened his draft position.
“Late-first round, early-second,” he said. “Just to solidify a spot. I don’t want to go to the NBA and get lost. Definitely just come out here and get as much information as possible.”
With the new rule that allows college basketball players to enter the draft and still remain school eligible if they choose to not sign with an agent, it provided players with the opportunity to get a legitimate gauge of their NBA value.
“I just ask them straight up, ‘Do you think I’m ready to go to the NBA or not?'” he said. “That’s basically what this route allows you to do and I’m going to take advantage of it.”
Whitehead would be in the mix for Big East Player of the Year honors had he opted to stay at Seton Hall, and the Pirates would be in strong position to make a deep run in March after last year’s first-round NCAA Tournament exit.
“That’s potentially the best player in the Big East,” one NBA source said. “He’ll be one of the best players in the country.”
Follow Adam Zagoria on Twitter
NN
