Ring Fever

The crowd has lost its collective mind and so has Gene Myvett, star of the Littlerock High boys’ basketball team.

He wants to hear more cheering, he wants to see the opponent continue to get creamed.

Myvett, a 6-foot-4 senior swingman averaging 23.7 points, is in his element, waiting for the climactic moment.

As the crowd roars one more time, Myvett knows the end is near. Quickly, Stone Cold Steve Austin pins his opponent in a World Wrestling Federation match.

Myvett smiles.

Those who have watched Myvett with a basketball would be surprised to hear his true love is pro wrestling.

How addicted is Myvett?

Last week, he and teammate Justin Berkley bolted from practice to get to a book signing by The Rock, wrestling’s biggest name.

Myvett wasn’t deterred by the massive crowd that had beaten him to the event, but the 70-mile trip to a West L.A. bookstore went for naught when Myvett discovered every copy of The Rock’s book had been sold.

Instead of getting an autograph, Myvett had to settle for a distant look at The Rock.

Then there was the time last year when Littlerock Coach Ben Dale noticed Myvett studying the clock before a game. Not the game clock, but a clock on the wall.

Turns out there was a big wrestling event that night on TV and Myvett was trying to figure out how much he would miss because of the basketball game.

Myvett believes pro wrestling is as real as the sun and the moon.

“When you watch it, you don’t say it’s phony,” he said. “Eighty percent of it is real.”

There’s nothing phony about Myvett’s on-court activities.

He lit up three Golden League opponents in a recent stretch, scoring 31 points against defending champion Quartz Hill and 34 against Highland, a performance that included nine dunks and four three-point baskets.

He then scored 31 points against Antelope Valley despite sitting out the first quarter because of an upset stomach. Littlerock led by six points when Myvett entered the game. By halftime, the Lobos were ahead, 29-6, thanks to 12 second-quarter points from Myvett.

Myvett isn’t comfortable discussing the Lobos’ slow march toward their first league championship. He also doesn’t like talking about his talents, explaining them with a short statement.

“I just give the crowd what they want,” he said.

Last summer, Myvett was anything but a show-stopper. He worked hard under the hot sun by mowing the lawns of Dale’s neighbors.

Dale, in his second year as Littlerock coach, lives with his wife, Michelle, at Edwards Air Force Base. Michelle is on active duty.

Myvett jumped at the chance to make a few extra dollars and convinced teammate Frank Robinson to help out.

After an exhausting day of work, they would return to Dale’s house, where they sometimes would sleep.

“They were working all day,” Dale said. “They’d come by at night, eat my wife’s food and just crash.”

Despite seeing Myvett several times a week during the summer, Dale had trouble communicating with him at the start of basketball season.

Myvett has been a varsity player since his sophomore season, but he never had to handle leadership duties, a responsibility Dale gives his seniors.

When Dale asked Myvett’s opinion on everything from practice times to the psyche of the team, he was given the cold shoulder.

“He was thinking, ‘Why are you asking me these questions?’ ” Dale said. “He’s thinking, ‘Why does anybody care what I have to say?’

“We realized that we had no communication before this year, but that’s just a function of my philosophy. I do a lot of things through seniors and team captains. At this point, I communicate better with him than I ever did.”

And colleges are starting to make contact after Myvett attained a qualifying SAT score.

Cal State Northridge and Virginia have shown interest, Myvett said.

Wherever he ends up, they better be prepared for his high-flying basketball act.

And they better like pro wrestling.