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Former Seton Hall guard Aaron Cosby transfers to Illinois

Big East Basketball Tournament - First Round

NEW YORK, NY - MARCH 12: Aaron Cosby #1 of the Seton Hall Pirates tries to steal the ball from Toarlyn Fitzpatrick #32 of the South Florida Bulls at Madison Square Garden on March 12, 2013 in New York City. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)

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Aaron Cosby has decided where he will use his last two years of eligibility. The former Seton Hall guard chose Illinois over Missouri on Saturday according to Marcus Jackson of The News-Gazette.

Jackson tweeted the announcement just after midnight on Saturday. Cosby was the Pirates second leading scorer in his sophomore season, averaging 12.6 points per game. His transfer options appeared to be very wide open until he limited it to just the Illini and Mizzou. In an interview with Jackson on Thursday, it appeared John Groce and Co. had the inside track.

“I really like Illinois’ playing style, and I was looking for comfort with the head coach, the staff and location. Cosby told IlliniHQ.com. “I have that with Illinois. I had a chance to sit down with Coach Groce and the staff already a couple of times. They came to my house and talked to my family, so I’m looking forward to getting there and seeing everything.”

Jackson mentioned that Groce, the Ohio head coach at the time, had recruited Cosby when he was at Northfield Mount Hermon (Mass.) in 2011. Two years later, Groce finally landed the Louisville, Ky. product.

“I got a chance to know them pretty well back then,” Cosby told Jackson. “I went to prep school for a year and got a lot of high-major offers. But, I really liked Coach Groce and his staff.”

Cosby will have to sit out next season and will have two years remaining starting 2014-2015 season. Illinois brings in a trio of guards for next year. Shooting guard Malcolm Hill and the Simeon Career Academy (Ill.) backcourt of Kendrick Nunn and Jaylon Tate make up three of five recruits in the Illini’s 2013 class.

Tracy Adams returns for his junior season while Brandon Paul and D.J. Richardson graduate this spring.

The 6-foot-2 Cosby decided to leave the Seton Hall program on March 18, five days after his sophomore campaign came to an end.

Illinois finished 23-13 (8-10 Big Ten) in 2012-2013 before being knocked out of the NCAA tournament by Miami in the round of 32.

Terrence is also the lead writer at NEHoopNews.com and can be followed on Twitter: @terrence_payne