With leading scorer Rayvonte Rice sidelined, Illinois will be short another guard for the time being. Wednesday evening the program announced that guard Aaron Cosby will be unavailable for the next 1-2 weeks after undergoing a laser procedure on his left eye to repair a retinal tear.
The injury was suffered during the first half of the Fighting Illini’s home loss to Indiana on Sunday, a game in which Cosby played 18 minutes and missed all five of his shots from the field.
Cosby, who is in his first season of eligibility at Illinois after beginning his college career at Seton Hall, is averaging 7.8 points and 3.6 rebounds per game but he’s shooting less than 30 percent from the field on the season. With Cosby sidelined it’s likely that another transfer, guard Ahmad Starks, moves into the starting lineup for the time being.
Starks, who’s averaging 7.7 points and 3.0 assists per game, accounted for 19 points and six assists in 26 minutes off the bench in Sunday’s loss to Indiana.