Crawley attended Ripley High School. He averaged 21.5 points and 14.5 rebounds per game as a senior and led the team to a 26-8 record. He received All-State, All-District 15 Class regular season and All-Tournament honors, while also being named the 15-AA Tournament Most Valuable Player. Crawley scored 1,500 points in high school. He signed with Columbia State Community College because he liked the academics.

College career