HOBART (NBC 26) — Cody Schwartz is preparing for the next chapter in his professional basketball career.
The former West De Pere and UW-Green Bay star will soon leave for Zagreb, Croatia, where he will play in what he says is the most competitive league of his career so far.
Watch the full story here:
“I’m excited to meet the team, meet the coaches, and at least I’ll have, you know, probably about a month, month and a half to do preseason training, maybe get some scrimmages in,” Schwartz said.
Croatia marks the fourth stop in Schwartz’s overseas journey. He graduated from UW-Green Bay in 2020, but his pro career was delayed when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, and after he tore his Achilles tendon.
“It was probably two years of not playing like, I guess, organized basketball,” he said. “It was kind of like playing pickup here and there.”
His first contract came in Germany, where he adjusted to living abroad for the first time.
“The language barrier was tough at first, but all my teammates, for the most part, spoke English,” Schwartz said. “So there’s times, you know, we go to team dinners and they’re kind of translating to me what I should order and telling the waiter.”
After Germany, Schwartz played in Portugal and Bulgaria. He says the friendships he made on each team are still a big part of his life.
“I got one teammate in Germany that I still, to this day—it’s been three years—that we’ve been keeping in contact,” he said. “Probably three of them from my team in Portugal that I was really close with as well.”
As he prepares for 10 months in Croatia’s capital city of 1 million people, Schwartz said he’s looking forward to learning more about the country and seeing what it has to offer. His agency is based in Croatia, and his agent has already offered him suggestions on where to go during his free time.
“My agent kind of sent me mainly like a bunch of places to tour that just look really nice,” he said. “Like I said, if you get some time, he’s like, hey, you should really visit here or this place. But other than that, kind of when I get there, just see what happens.”
Schwartz said he is grateful for the chance to keep his basketball career going and is eager to begin his next chapter in Croatia.
