Vaught Enjoys Silencing the Ridicule

Clipper forward Loy Vaught, ridiculed when the Clippers won 17 games three years ago, is having the last laugh now that the Clippers are in the playoffs.

“You’d be on the road watching the news and a sportscaster would say such and such a team would have an easy win because they were playing the lowly Clippers,” Vaught said. “It happened in a lot of cities; it wasn’t just an isolated incident.

“When you’ve got so many critics and so many people trying to tear you down, you want so bad to prove them wrong. It was tough, but I knew that things had to get better.”

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Brent Barry, drafted as a shooting guard, is being employed as a point guard by Coach Bill Fitch.

But Barry, who had a career-high 11 assists in last Friday’s 28-point loss to the Lakers, feels he still has a lot to learn.

“It’s going to take me four or five years to get used to it,” Barry said. “By the turn of the century I might be able to play that position.

“My season has been a wash. I’ll have plenty of motivation to work out this summer, the way this season has gone. I’m going to play with Chris [Mullin] and play in the summer leagues. I’m going to play a lot and get my head right.”