Editor’s note: ‘Where are they now’ is a new feature that will appear weekly on past NIU athletes.

Former NIU basketball standout Marcus Smallwood has seen his fair share of travelling since graduating last school year.

He has played basketball in four countries since leaving DeKalb.

After finishing his NIU career 11th all time in scoring and seventh in rebounds, the 6-foot-6 power forward had trouble adjusting. He said the hardest thing to get used to was the new free-throw line.

“The biggest highlight would be when I was able to play against Al Sewasciuk,” said Smallwood about his former teammate at NIU who played in the same league in Poland. “It was nice to see someone I actually recognized.

“Poland was probably the toughest place to adjust,” said Smallwood, who started off with team Astorii Bydgoszcz. “There weren’t many people who spoke English, not even the coaches. So I pretty much had to just follow other players examples to learn the play book.”

His tenure for Bydgoszcz was short lived. Smallwood played for only three months before the team sponsors decided to move in a different direction, releasing the entire team.

The next stop on Smallwood’s European vacation was Sweden, where he was able to sign with the Solna Vikings for one month.

“At first I didn’t know what to expect,” Smallwood said. “I had been released and didn’t know where I would get on. It ended up being a chance to travel the world I might not have gotten otherwise.”

Realizing he was the outsider, Smallwood found himself playing the role of the gracious visitor.

“I played in a little town called Bidgosh,” Smallwood said. “It was a town that lived and died with their basketball team. If we won it was a good week but if we lost they were pretty upset.”

His mother, Jean Crudup, who was a regular at Huskie basketball games, was unable to make any of his games over the last year. She still holds her plane ticket and will see her son play again with the first chance she gets.

“It’s great to have him back,” Crudup said. “I’m excited cause I get to pamper and spoil my baby again.”

After he returned to his home in Elgin, Smallwood signed to play for the Windy City Dawgs, a team in the semi-pro International Basketball League.

“You miss all the little things your school gave you,” Smallwood said. “But it’s nice to get compensated for what you love doing too.”

Crudup said Smallwood will be playing again in Europe for at least another year.

“Basketball is his passion,” Crudup said. “He’s good at what he does and he has the talent to pursue the NBA. He’ll keep trying his hardest until he’s there.”