The West Virginia Mountaineers are gearing up for their season opener Monday night against Missouri State, but they face many challenges.

COACHING CHANGE: The Mountaineers fired head coach Bob Huggins in March and hired Josh Eilert as his interim replacement.
PLAYER LOSS: The Mountaineers lost several key players due to transfers, including Kyle Kryza, who was unavailable for the first nine games of the season.
INJURY: Starting forward Akok Akok is out with an injury and it is unclear when he will return.
Despite these challenges, Eilert still believes the Mountaineers can be successful. He expects his players to step up and capitalize on their opportunities.

"We're excited," Eilert told the media Thursday." It's all coming together fast. We've had a lot of challenges in the 40 days since we started training. We may be short-handed, but we have players I think we can count on and I'm excited to play with them."

Quinn Slasinski is one of the players that Eilert has high hopes for, as the talented transfer will take over for Akok Akok. Slasinski is a skilled scorer and rebounder and is expected to be one of the key players for the Mountaineers this season.

Kobe Johnson is another player that Eilert has high hopes for and will take over from Akok Akok as the starting point guard. Johnson is a quick, athletic player who is also an excellent passer and ball handler.

Ellert knows the Mountaineers have a lot of challenges to overcome this season, but he believes they can be successful. He expects his players to step up and capitalize on their opportunities.

"Control what you can control," Eilert said." From the first day I got this job, it kept me up at night. For the things I can't control, you have to let go and control the things you can control.

The Mountaineers will open the season on Monday night against Missouri State at 7:00 p.m. ET.