 Born and raised in Scottsburg, Indiana, Cravens played college basketball at Brunswick Junior College in Georgia and transferred to Texas–Arlington for his final two seasons.He was an assistant coach for a year at his alma mater, then at Southwest Texas State in San Marcos for three years, and returned to Texas–Arlington.In 1985, he joined the staff of new head coach Andy Russo at Washington in Seattle for four years in the Pac-10, then went to Utah under new head coach Rick Majerus in 1989.