Editor’s note: The Daily Illini sports desk sits down 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.

Brandon Paul jogged through the Assembly Hall tunnel for Tuesday’s practice wearing his latest on a dense list of awards, the No. 40.

Instead of his usual No. 3 jersey, which combined with his silky smooth stroke from downtown earned the Illini basketball senior his notorious moniker “BP3,” Paul wore his reward for finishing as the top rebounder in the team’s 63-62 victory over Gardner-Webb — a jersey bearing former Illini James Augustine’s all-time rebounding record, “1,023”, printed on the name plate, and the power forward’s name printed beneath his old number.

The jersey, like the Maui Invitational MVP and ESPN Player of the Week honor he earned last week, is an afterthought. He calls the awards “icing on the cake” compared to the Illini’s 7-0 start to the season that’s earned the team a spot in the top 25 for the first time since last January. And although he’d never admit it, Paul’s 19.7 points per game, 51 percent shooting from the floor and 48 percent mark from 3-point land over three games in the Maui Invitational, as well as his 12-point second half in the Illini’s buzzer-beating win Sunday, are largely the reason why the team has started the season undefeated.

“I think he’d even be the first one to say, ‘It’s all about the team,’” senior forward Tyler Griffey said. “It’s not about personal success. He’s our team leader. He’s our captain. He’s our best player. His first and only care is about our team.”

That much has been evident over the last week. Paul started the trip to Hawaii with 25 points against the Warriors. He started the Maui Invitational with a 26-point game against USC, then dropped 13 against Chaminade and 20 in the final against Butler. Then, down two points with 12 seconds left against Gardner-Webb, Groce drew up the final play for Paul, but two defenders met him as he tried to create a shot. He read the defense and dished the ball to Griffey for the game-winning three.

But it wasn’t always easy for Paul.

For reasons against his will, he was removed from the team during the new NCAA sanctioned workouts over the summer. A collision with redshirt freshman guard Devin Langford broke Paul’s jaw, sidelining him for on-court drills as first-year head coach John Groce was in the early stages of implementing his system.

“A lot of guys would have used that as an excuse, so what did he do? He watched a ton of film so he could learn the system faster and pick up things quicker,” Groce said. “He really is a student of the game. He’s smart. We had a quick turnaround for Gardner-Webb, and we gave him three or four things in scouting and he nailed all of them. He knows what’s going on. He can think the game as well as play it.”

He’s been playing with a consistency that was lacking in the first three years of his Illini career, said to be the Achilles’ heel to his game. The difference isn’t a coincidence. He’s constantly referred to the “green light” he’s been given in Groce’s system and said his new coach’s style fits his game better than former head coach Bruce Weber’s.

But Groce still takes a tough-love approach with Paul, calling him out especially during film sessions to show the team that everyone can improve individually, no matter his skill level or accolades.

“The best thing about Brandon Paul, and I thought about this driving in this morning (Tuesday) because I’m a weird guy, is he’s allowed us to coach him at a high level,” Groce said. “Like yesterday during film session, I was on him. I mean, I was on him. That sends a message to the other guys like: ‘Whoa, man, he’s going at him. Everybody is held accountable around here.’ I’m very thankful for that with Brandon.”

He’s also appreciative of Paul’s experience, which the senior uses as the pace-setting attitude for the team to stay humble.

After missing the NCAA tournament last season, losing Meyers Leonard to the NBA Draft and ushering in a first-year coach, Illinois basketball is now the No. 22 team in the country in both the AP and USA Today polls just seven games into the season. Paul expressed to the team that rankings don’t matter. The Illini have been there before as recently as last season before losing their final 12-of-14 games to miss the NCAA tournament.

The Hawaii trip had its perks. Paul and his teammates had time to relax on the beach for a few days, but ultimately the senior understood it was a business trip in which the team brought four wins and a trophy back to Champaign.

The Illini’s upcoming game against Georgia Tech on Wednesday will be Paul’s fourth time playing in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. He’s never lost, and he doesn’t expect that to change.

“We’ve been through a lot here,” Paul said. “Coach is always bringing that up that we have toughness in us to finish games. Without that toughness, we probably wouldn’t have pulled that last one out.”

Toughness and togetherness is the team’s motto this year, and as the team captain, Paul sets that tone. If he continues to produce like he has through the first seven games, the talk concerning his professional prospects will only get louder. And perhaps someday a future Illini player might trot out to practice with Paul’s No. 3 on his back.

Ethan can be reached at [email protected] and @asofthesky.