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Orlando Magic guard Cuttino Mobley went to Maine Central Institute in Pittsfield, Maine for high school, had a solid University of Rhode Island college career, and was drafted 42nd overall in 1998 by the Houston Rockets. This summer, Houston traded the 6-4, 215-pound Mobley, along with Steve Francis and Kelvin Cato, to the Orlando Magic for Tracy McGrady and three other players. Mobley's NBA career average is 17.0 points, 4.0 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game. Friday night in Madison Square Garden the Magic defeated the Knicks in a close, exciting game. "Cat" was huge with 34 points, six rebounds and four steals. InsideHoops.com editor Jeff Lenchiner met with Mobley after the game for an exclusive interview.

InsideHoops.com: You guys are winning. And the team is fun to watch. And you look like you're enjoying yourself out there. It's basketball, and it's working, and you look free on the floor.

Cuttino Mobley: I mean, I'm not really going to say... I always have fun playing basketball, but this year is a lot of fun. When Rudy [Tomjanovich] was there [in Houston], it was a lot of fun. Running up and down, that's what people want to see. We're just getting to show our talent a little more. And everybody love each other. We all go out with each other, restaurants. We pull together, just like our boys in Houston, Yao and Mo, Jimmy, we're close, too. We miss those dudes, but we're over here, we've having fun. That's what basketball is about. Not no dictatorship, know what I mean?

InsideHoops.com: Is that what it felt like over there (in Houston under Van Gundy), a dictatorship?

Cuttino Mobley: Yeah, I mean, people try to control you because they think it's to the best, but sometimes it's right, and sometimes it's not, but, whatever the case is.

InsideHoops.com: And like you said, you always have fun, but like tonight, when you saw Marbury waving to the stands to pump the fans up, you started doing it, too.

Cuttino Mobley: Yeah, I like that. I like to hear that sh*t, know what I mean? The people in the Garden, getting all "Woo woo woo!" Yeah, ok. I like that. Hype me up.

InsideHoops.com: You get into that. Cool. Because this place gets electric, and some players feed off of crowd energy more than others.

Cuttino Mobley: I'm from the East coast. I'm from Philly. I love it. So if you're quiet, it's psychological. You think of something else. But if they're loud, to me, I love it. The louder you are, the better it is for me.

InsideHoops.com: Even if you're away, on the road, as long as the crowd has energy, you dig it, right?

Cuttino Mobley: Yeah. I feed off of fans. The more you talk to me, the more I'm going to come at you.

InsideHoops.com: Let's switch back to Houston. What was up? What was right, what was wrong?

Cuttino Mobley: I would love Houston, but I just think we slowed the ball down too much, and we didn't have as much freedom as we should have. No knock on Jeff (Van Gundy), because he's a great defensive coach. But offensively, I think the freedom like that we have here, with the same defense that he had... you know what I mean? I don't know; Jeff's a good dude. He's misunderstood. But offensively, at times, you were bored and frustrated (laughs). That's just what it is.