D’Asia Chambers sometimes looks over at Slippery Rock University women’s interim basketball coach Bobby McGraw and wonders where the energy comes from.

McGraw is constantly moving.

Whether he’s pacing up and down the bench, clapping and yelling or standing rolling his shoulders.

The former Pennsylvania State Trooper and first-year coach is always fidgeting.

The energy is contagious for SRU, which is 7-11 and has the most wins since it finished 11-16 in 2008-09 under Laurel Heilman.

That’s why The Rock needs to drop the interim tag and give McGraw, who is a Mars native, a chance.

“He give us so much it’s like where do you get it from?,” Chambers said. “We’re the ones that have to play and he’s more energized than we are.”

There was little enthusiasm during the Tanya Longo era.

SRU’s program took a nosedive.

The Rock went 19-85 and never won more than six games in a season during her four seasons. SRU was 10-64 in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference play.

It was a tough part of a gradual decline.

The Rock hasn’t made the conference tournament since 2000-01 and hasn’t sniffed the NCAAs since making a run to the Elite 8 in 1999-00 under Darcie Vincent.

While McGraw’s record is padded — The Rock has three wins against Penn State University branch campuses — there’s a different feeling among his players.

“His passion toward us and him believing in us,” junior forward Megan Hardiman said. “There’s more passion to him then there has been in the past years.”

For Chambers, who went over the 1,000-point barrier and was the first Rock women’s player to earn All-PSAC honors since 2004-05, she knew right away McGraw would fit in.

“Honestly, it was from the beginning,” Chambers said. “Even when he became an assistant coach last year. He was in my ear saying ‘We need you. We need you to take over and do this and that.’”

With more intense drilling in the preseason and a bigger focus on defense, SRU has seen results.

The Rock allows 65.3 points per game, down from 75.8 last season.

While SRU’s scoring is down, its average scoring margin has fallen from negative 9.1 points per game to negative 1.8 points per game.

“Our defense is definitely improved tremendously from last year and the year before that,” Hardiman said. “Our first step was definitely our defense and he’s done a great job with us.”

McGraw inherited a program that’s been a laughing stock of the PSAC for the past 15 years.

He’s made some in-roads in recruiting, even getting a commitment from Morgan Henderson, who plays for local power Seton-La Salle.

Vincent may not be walking through that door, but McGraw has shown he deserves the chance to.

Josh Rizzo is a sports writer for the Butler Eagle.