Cavenall played
college basketball for
Texas Southern University, and went undrafted in the
1981 NBA draft as a senior. After playing for the
Sydney Supersonics in the Australian
National Basketball League, Cavenall returned to America to play in the
Continental Basketball Association with the Washington Generals, while also playing for the basketball show team
Harlem Wizards. While playing for the Wizards, he caught the attention of
Rick Pitino, who was then an assistant for the
New York Knicks, who invited Cavenall to join the Knicks in the 1984 NBA Summer League. He made the team's final roster, playing in 53 games with 2 starts and averaging 1.8 points and 3.1 rebounds during 12.3 minutes of playing time in the
1984-85 NBA season. Cavenall was not resigned by the Knicks at the end of the season. He spent the following few years playing for three teams in the CBA, before receiving another call-up to the NBA to play for the
New Jersey Nets in 1988. Cavenall only played five games for the team in limited minutes, and was waived in December of that year. He spent the rest of his career playing for various teams in the CBA, with his final season being in 1992–1993 with
Columbus Horizon. ==Personal life==