After seven months, a trip to Italy and two preseason meetings, Darian DeVries is about to coach his first game at WVU that will finally count.

“I don’t feel pressure, but every game I want to be a little nervous, I want to be excited,” DeVries said. “That’s why we do this. I’m certainly excited for our staff and our team to come out and really play. From a coach’s point of view, the only thing that really matters to me is that we play how we want to play.”

A curtain of sorts will rise at 7 p.m. on Monday inside the WVU Coliseum, when the Mountaineers host Robert Morris for the season opener.

Act 1 is simply a revelation, like finding out who these mountain people are.

It’s basically a new roster that DeVries created, a clean slate from the program that finished last in the Big 12 last season and set a school record with 23 losses.

They are now a team, by most projections, that will look to spread the floor with plenty of 3-point shots, while playing tough defense on the other end.

However, projections may change. The truth is, perhaps no one outside of DeVries and his players knows what to expect.

“A lot of people think they know who we are, that we’re a new team, a new team,” WVU guard Sencire Harris said. “We came in as the underdogs. “People may think that, but they don’t really know us.”

The same can also be said for the Colonials, who held off Villanova last week in a charity exhibition game, losing 87-73.

Under veteran coach Andrew Toole, the Colonials are fielding a different team with just one starter and three of their top eight players returning from last season’s 10-22 team.

DJ Smith and Josh Omojafo scored 15 points for Robert Morris in the loss. Smith is a transfer from Bowling Green, while Omojafo was a Division II All-American last season at Gannon (Pa.).

The biggest question will be what will the Mountaineers offer?

“I think we have a lot of guys that can make shots,” DeVries said. “They are very capable three-point shooters. We’ll see what that looks like when the game lights are on. I think we have guys that can get you through a night, which is always good to have several guys that can get you 20 on any given night.”

That includes his son, Tucker, a senior who will make his WVU debut after winning back-to-back Missouri Valley Conference player of the year honors.

Harris and forward Amani Hansberry were once highly touted recruits who transferred to WVU from Illinois, following assistant coach Chester Frazier, now WVU’s associate head coach.

Toby Okani led the Missouri Valley in blocks last season at Illinois-Chicago, while Javon Small will be tasked with holding it all together at point guard.

Small is a transfer from Oklahoma State, who averaged 15.1 points and 4.1 assists per game last season.

“I think the identity has started to shine through a little bit,” Darian DeVries said. “If we can do it consistently, that will be our main goal.

“They are playing very hard right now and I love that. They are playing selflessly and together. “I’m excited to see that as we get through the games, we can do that for 40 minutes every night.”

The fun part, DeVries said, has been putting it all together in those seven months, figuring out the right peg that fits each hole.

“When you get a group of returning players back, you know what you’re getting in front of a group of news guys and you don’t know for sure on game night,” DeVries said. “That will change as the season progresses. When we get into games, we may need Toby to be on the block more or Amani to have more threes.

“Every game you can add something to what you’re doing and maybe modify it a little bit. That’s the fun part of being able to adapt as the season goes on.”