Editor’s Note: The Daily Illini sports desk sits down on Sunday nights and decides which Illinois athlete or coach is our Illini of the Week. Student-athletes and coaches are evaluated by individual performance and contribution to team success.

Illinois’ Mr. Basketball graduated from Warren Township High School in Gurnee, Ill., on May 23, but that didn’t mean his reign as the state’s premier player was over. In Brandon Paul’s first collegiate contest as an Illini on Friday, the guard established his reputation as the top basketball player in the state — this time at the next level.

Or at least for one night he did.

Paul’s quiet confidence led No. 23 Illinois to a 96-69 win against Southern Illinois Edwardsville and a 1-0 start to its season. He scored a game-high 22 points, the most ever for an Illinois freshman debut. In fact, Paul wasn’t even born yet when Deon Thomas set the previous record in 1990, scoring 21 points in his first game.

But to establish his reputation in Illinois at the next level, Paul knew it would take more than the countless baskets he scored against North Suburban Conference opponents.

“I came out shooting well,” Paul said of Friday’s win. “I didn’t want to fall in love with it and just forget the other parts of my game, so I wanted to continue to rebound, defend and get my teammates open.”

Paul scored 11 of the Illini’s first 21 points and finished with four rebounds and four assists in 29 minutes of play.

Big man Mike Davis viewed Paul in another light after the win.

“He played great,” Davis said after Friday’s game. “He played up to his potential. Sometimes he’s just the little guy out there, but today he played hard out there in all of his minutes. He rebounded. He passed the ball. He shot the ball well.”

Head coach Bruce Weber said he was happy with his decision to match Paul up on defense with SIUE’s Mark Yelovich. Paul limited Yelovich — whom Weber believes is the Cougars’ best player — to just five points in 21 minutes.

“He has length, he has athletic ability,” Weber said of Paul on defense. “If he can just get some good fundamentals defensively, he could be that kind of player who could go out with D.J. (Richardson).”

The first Mr. Basketball to play for Illinois since 2002 recipient Dee Brown was not alone in trying to establish his place in the Illini program, though. Richardson also started in his first game at Illinois and finished second among all scorers with 14 points.

“There was a lot of pressure on us,” Paul said. “But we just wanted to come out and play hard and show them that the freshmen can work hard on the court.”

Before the season began, Weber thought Paul’s hushed demeanor would hold him back.

“We’ve yelled at him, coach (Wayne) McClain’s got on him,” Weber said. “He’s taken it and just comes back.”

Paul may be one of the quietest Illini off the court, but come game time he doesn’t need words to find the basket.

“He is not afraid to put it up,” Weber said.