Brandon Paul could be Ben Affleck.

It isn’t simply Paul’s reputation as an excellent actor on the court to draw fouls and earn trips to the free-throw line. No, Paul and his fellow Illini seniors share more than just Hollywood-caliber acting skills. They share paths.

When Affleck gave his acceptance speech Sunday night after “Argo” won the Oscar for Best Picture, it marked the full rejuvenation of Affleck’s career.

Affleck broke onto the scene in the 1990s as a promising young talent, culminating in winning an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay for “Good Will Hunting,” which he co-wrote with his bro Matt Damon when Affleck was just 25. It appeared the movie star was on the cusp of a wonderful career.

Then the 2000s happened. Affleck capitalized on his newfound fame by starring in box-office hits like “Pearl Harbor” and “Daredevil,” subpar movies that paid well but didn’t deliver on the promise. (It feels wrong to call them box-office hits. I’ve never met anyone who liked “Daredevil.”) But hey, nobody’s perfect, right?

Right. Then again, not everybody makes awful films like “Gigli” (I’m not going to lie, I didn’t see this. But I’ve read the plot summary, and it made me gag) or “Surviving Christmas” (this actually happened). There’s falling off a cliff, and then there’s starring in “Gigli” and “Surviving Christmas.” By the mid-2000s, most of us had written Affleck off as another young prodigy that flamed out in Hollywood. He hit rock bottom, seemingly destined to make millions of dollars off terrible romantic comedies and stale action flicks (but actually, if rock bottom means half-assing it at work, still making millions of dollars and coming home to Jennifer Lopez, sign me up).

It was impossible to picture Affleck back up onstage at the Oscars. But slowly, he made his comeback, first directing the underrated “Gone Baby Gone” before exploding back into the mainstream with “The Town” in 2010. When “Argo” hit theaters last year, it was the Ben Affleck show, produced, directed and starred in by the once-maligned star.

During Affleck’s emotional, mile-a-minute acceptance speech at the Oscars, it was clear what the award meant to him. He had rewritten his legacy from a flash in the pan to a genuine star, someone who truly mattered.

Illinois’ senior class has that same opportunity. Like Affleck, Paul, D.J. Richardson and Tyler Griffey (we’re just including the three four-year seniors, so no Sam McLaurin) began their careers with promise. They showed flashes early. Paul displayed heaps of potential with 22 points in his college debut and a signature performance on national television in a 23-point comeback win at No. 18 Clemson. Richardson was the solid and steady one, from the beginning staking a role as an elite perimeter defender and outside shooter.

The Illini failed to make the NCAA tournament that year, but the performances of Paul and Richardson, the latter of whom took home the Big Ten Freshman of the Year award, signified a bright future. Paul was Will Hunting, brilliantly ephemeral. Richardson, his steady sidekick Chuckie Sullivan. (Tyler Griffey must have been Minnie Driver’s character, Skylar. I guarantee you didn’t know her name until I told you.)

Illinois appeared poised to make a deep postseason run the following season with a handful of seniors (Demetri McCamey, Mike Tisdale, Mike Davis and Bill Cole) returning and the continued development of Paul, Richardson and Griffey. The Illini climbed as high as No. 12 in the rankings but lost 10 out of 16 down the stretch and barely snuck into the NCAA tournament, falling to Kansas in the Round of 32. This is the “Pearl Harbor”-and-“Daredevil” moment. They should have been great but turned out to be mediocre.

With the seniors gone, the reins were handed to Paul and Richardson, who were to lead another crop of talented freshmen with promise. The ensuing debacle is well-chronicled. Another fast start, a top-25 ranking, then a precipitous fall that culminated in Bruce Weber’s firing (a 23-point loss to Nebraska is probably the “Gigli” moment).

Illinois entered this season with little expectations. The coach was different, but the roster was essentially the same, minus first-round draft pick Meyers Leonard. A surprising 12-0 start gave hope that the Illini had turned it around, the ensuing 3-8 slide felt like a sick nightmare, that these players, and more specifically, these seniors just didn’t have the right mentality to weather tough times.

But against all odds, and the No. 1 team in the country, the Illini halted the train wreck, led by stellar performances from Paul, Richardson and Griffey. They reeled off five straight wins and surged back into the tournament conversation. They are now primed to make a postseason run, and these three seniors will dictate how they perform.

Paul is one of the more frustrating players I can remember watching. He occasionally puts it all together (Ohio State last year, at Gonzaga) in remarkable performances that leave us shaking our head, which only makes it more perplexing when he makes numerous head-scratching plays or disappears down the stretch of big games.

After winning Big Ten Freshman of the Year, Richardson hit a plateau. His game stopped growing, and he turned into simply a jump shooter. He has broken out of that mold in the last month, at times carrying the Illini offensively during their winning streak. After three years of taking a back seat, his assertiveness is refreshing.

Griffey is having his best season but has turned into an inconsistent contributor in conference play. Still, he’s always good for a few jokes.

Much of how these three Illini are remembered will be based on how they finish this season. I don’t think anyone expects them to have an Oscar moment like Affleck, but a .500 record in the Big Ten and a run to the Sweet 16 will do wonders for both their legacies and to jump-start the John Groce era. Another lackluster finish and a first- or second-round tournament exit, meanwhile, will mean we’ll remember Paul, Richardson and Griffey how we have the past four years: full of potential but failing to deliver. Heading into senior night and with three games left in the regular season, the trio of four-year seniors has a chance to rewrite the ending to their legacy. They halted the free fall, but there is still much left unwritten.

Daniel is a senior in Media. He can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter

@danielmillermc.