Lakers’ Van Exel Says Others Will Be Sorry : Basketball: Former Cincinnati guard says he’s no trouble off the court.

Nick Van Exel has a positive attitude about being labeled an attitude problem. He’s positive teams will regret ignoring him until he was chosen 37th, by the Lakers, in last week’s NBA draft.

“I think they know what they could have had,” said Van Exel, who led Cincinnati to the Final Four as a junior and to the East Regional final in the NCAA tournament as a senior. “Maybe the teams I visited and told me they liked me a lot and would draft me, I’ll make them pay for it.

“(The Lakers) already know what I can do. They know I’m a good person and I don’t get into any trouble off the court. The only thing they know about my attitude, probably, is what the media has said.”

Many stories about the 6-foot-1 point guard described him as cocky and irresponsible. Cited were his poor shot selection in an NCAA tournament game against Virginia and his showboating while scoring 21 first-half points in the Bearcats’ eventual defeat by North Carolina. His failure to make two flights for pre-draft interviews seemed to confirm his immaturity and make him a risky pick.

But according to Van Exel, who worked out Friday with the Lakers’ summer league team in preparation for Sunday’s opener, reports of his flakiness were exaggerated.

“I wasn’t arrogant or confident,” Van Exel said of his refusal to credit North Carolina’s defense for holding him to two points in the second half of the East Regional. “That’s just how I felt. Everything I shot in the first half went in. None of them could have stopped me. I’m not arrogant or confident. I’m smart.”

He attributed the first missed flight to an error by the athletic department secretary at Cincinnati and the second to his girlfriend’s involvement in a car accident.

“I went to Charlotte the Wednesday before the draft, so obviously, they didn’t think anything of it,” he said.

The Lakers are satisfied with his explanations.

“From our information, he didn’t make a mistake,” said Mitch Kupchak, assistant general manager. “(Missing the flights) was not his fault. We had him out here for an interview and he was prompt. He’s quiet by nature, and quiet people can sometimes be misinterpreted. We’re happy as can be that he was there at 37th.”

Dropping from a projected mid-first round pick to the second round hurt him financially, but that’s not how he judges success, Van Exel said.

“People said I lost out on a lot of money, but I never had it to begin with,” he said. “I’m just glad I was drafted. It was a great experience for me to get drafted by a team like this with a great tradition. When I finally got drafted, everything was clear in my mind. It was no more, ‘Why did these guys go in front of me?’ I just want to come out there and work hard.”