After a 4-year college career at Michigan State, he went undrafted in the 1997 NBA draft and played professionally for 7 years, mostly in Europe.
Garavaglia was born in Dearborn, Michigan and attended Aquinas High School in the Detroit suburb of Southgate.
[2][4] He ended the season a Catholic League and Class C champion, and was ranked among the top high school players in the nation.
In his sophomore season with the Spartans coach Jud Heathcote promoted Garavaglia to a starter role, and he gained more playing time.
His final year of college basketball saw him recording career-best numbers in all major statistical categories, and he averaged 10.4 points, 5.9 rebounds, 1.1 assists and 1.0 steal per game, while shooting 50% from the field.
[16] Throughout his college career he showed inconsistent play, and coach Tom Izzo said that he thought Garavaglia could have been a better player had he been more focused, especially during his first years at Michigan State.
He then transferred to Portugal, signing for Oliveirense, in the Liga Portuguesa de Basquetebol, the first level of Portuguese basketball.