Rayvonte Rice and Aaron Cosby Suspended by Illinois: Latest Details, Reaction

Illinois basketball players Rayvonte Rice and Aaron Cosby have been suspended indefinitely for violating team rules.

Jon Rothstein of CBSSports.com reported the news on Saturday:

SI.com's Brian Hamilton weighed in, noting that both players were slated to return to the hardwood after health issues kept them out of the lineup:

The Chicago Sun-Times' Steve Greenberg added further details, including comments made by head coach John Groce. 

"Rayvonte and Aaron have been suspended indefinitely for a violation of team rules," said Groce. "Hopefully, they will make better choices and make the necessary progress to rejoin our lineup."

Greenberg notes that Cosby was dealing with a left eye retinal tear and that Rice has been out with a broken bone in his left hand.

After transferring from Seton Hall and sitting out last season, rust appears to be impacting Cosby's game. The junior guard shot 40 percent from beyond the arc with his previous squad in averaging 12.6 points per contest but has been ice cold since suiting up in Champaign.

Nam Y. Huh/Associated Press

Cosby is shooting 29.3 percent from the floor and has averaged 7.8 points per contest.

The bigger loss is Rice, who was leading the Fighting Illini with averages of 17.2 points and 6.9 rebounds. Illinois is already offensively challenged, with a meager team shooting percentage of just 42.9.

It will be difficult for the Fighting Illini to carry on without Rice for the foreseeable future. His shooting numbers spiked drastically from last year, and his senior leadership will be sorely missed on a team that's facing even more adversity now.

Next up for Groce's 13-8 squad—which has been so ravaged by injuries that it added student manager Ryan Schmidt to the roster—is a Saturday Big Ten home game against Penn State.