When USC takes the court Tuesday night for the opening game of this basketball season, the Trojans will be Isaiah Mobley's team.

There's no projected NBA lottery pick next to him this time around, like there was with Onyeka Okongwu two years ago and his younger brother Evan Mobley last year. He is no longer a complementary option in the offense or part of a supporting cast whose contributions can ebb and flow throughout the season.

No, if this USC team is going to get back to the NCAA tournament and try to make another run in March, it's hard to see that happening without Mobley prominently involved every step of the way.

Which underscores just how pivotal his summer decision to hold off on the NBA was for the Trojans -- and it wasn't an easy one.

"I know Coach Enfield was anxious to know what we were going to do," Eric Mobley, USC's assistant coach and the junior forward's father, says with a smile.

To some degree, so was Mobley himself for that matter.

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With his younger brother Evan cemented as one of the top picks in the draft -- he'd go No. 3 to the Cleveland Cavaliers -- Isaiah decided to test the NBA waters as well and go through the pre-draft combine and evaluation period.

Players had until July 7 to withdraw their name from the draft and return to college and it took Mobley and his family right down to the wire to settle on a final decision.

"It was pretty tough. He wanted to be in there with his brother as well as Big O, but I think the best [opportunity] for him in terms of family and for him individually was to come back to 'SC, prove himself and get better," Eric Mobley says.

So how close did he come to not returning?

"Really close," Eric Mobley continues. "... We knew he could have got a position in the NBA, we know he's going to play there. He also is a business major and he wanted to get his college degree and later on in the future he wants to be a coach, so we had to factor those in. There's no rush."

Mobley, who put himself on the draft radar while playing a starring role in USC's run to the Elite Eight, worked out for NBA teams and made a strong impression during the scrimmages at the NBA combine in Chicago. He collected all the feedback he could get and weighed his options.

"I worked out with some teams, we liked their info, it was still all positive, but it just wasn't enough for me to make my decision to move on, and I'm excited to be back here to try to make another run and keep building my resume," he said after practice on Friday. "[They projected me] anywhere from the second-round to two-way [contract] to the G League. It was a big range. It wasn't as precise as we wanted to hear, and obviously it was early, kind of far from the draft so the teams could only tell us so much. No knock to them or anything, that's just what it was, so based on that info I just decided to come back."

The outlook for this Trojans basketball season was boosted significantly with that decision, and now Mobley is hoping he can not only lead USC but boost his own stock before going through the draft process again next year.

He ranked third on the team with 9.9 points per game and second with 7.3 rebounds per game last season, but Mobley would be the first to say it was a bit of a rollercoaster at times.

It wasn't really until the postseason that he truly asserted himself on a consistent basis, averaging 16 points and 6.5 rebounds through the Trojans' four NCAA tournament games. And after making just 7 3-pointers the entire regular season, the 6-foot-10 forward suddenly morphed into the team's best perimeter shooter, making 10 of 15 3s over the final six games, starting in the Pac-12 tournament.

It's that version of Mobley the Trojans are now hoping they get for the full season.

"I feel like I had some highs and lows during the regular season. Obviously, I played well in the postseason, but [I want to] just put together a full season and just keep building my resume and keep winning as a team," he said. "... A lot of the times I was just thinking -- I feel I was in my own head. So that's why this year is big for me -- it's mental, the mental game. So just staying focused, emphasis on having fun, not thinking about 'Oh, I've got to get X amount of points so I can get reward A, B, C.' Not having an agenda. Just go out there and play and let everything happen."

Mobley was working on his outside shot after practice Friday, getting up one 3-pointer after another following the team workout, and it will be interesting to see if he's able to carryover some degree of the success he had from long range to close out last season.

"I'm just expanding it, I'm trying to be good at all three levels -- mid-range, 3 and inside. So just working on it, just to keep it sharp. I feel like you'll see more 3 attempts this year, both [with] my role being bigger and also just being more confident coming off the postseason and working throughout the summer," he said. "But yeah, that's not [all] I do now -- I'm just not [only] a 3-point shooter. It's just one of the parts of my game."

USC lost its top two scorers in Evan Mobley (16.4 PPG) and Tahj Eaddy (13.6), so again, Isaiah Mobley will need to be more of a consistent offensive force for the Trojans to succeed this year.

Guard Boogie Ellis transferred in from Memphis and should help in that department as well, while the Trojans also hope to see the rest of a rather veteran lineup continue to progress, but it starts with Mobley this season.

"We do want him to be more aggressive and shoot more shots from the field this year because he has expanded his range," coach Andy Enfield said. "He's a true inside-outside player right now, he's a very good passer and defensively he has to keep building. I thought he had a great second half of the year defensively last season guarding post plays and switching out on guards and smaller players."

Isaiah and his father got to go see Evan play at Staples Center a couple weeks ago when the Cavs played games against the Clippers and Lakers. It was a peek at the future he hopes is waiting for him after this season, but in the meantime he knows he still has more to prove.

Especially now that he doesn't have Okongwu or his brother next to him for the first time in quite a while.

"Probably last time he did that was at Rancho Christian freshman year, he had to be the big guy. They won a CIF title," Eric Mobley says matter-of-factly. "It's not that much adjustment for him. He's a winner, he loves to win, whatever it takes to do -- whether he needs tot score, or be a passer, whatever he needs to do, he's willing to do that. ...

"He's just got to be poised and stay focused the entire time, enjoy it, have fun, don't put pressure on yourself."

That will indeed be the challenge, given everything that is resting on Mobley's shoulders this season both for these Trojans and his own future.

When: 6 p.m. PT Tuesday

Where: Galen Center, Los Angeles

TV: Pac-12 Network