There was no midnight madness this year. Instead, the school went with an event near Heinz Field on homecoming. Emceed by the great Bill Raftery.

I didn’t make it to the event, but I actually saw Raftery in the press area shortly before the GT-Pitt game. I was grabbing another coffee and he was getting something to eat.

Couldn’t bring myself to interrupt him as he was about to eat. He must have come straight from the event and doing interviews with local media. I’ve seen ESPN football announcers around there before. Some former players. Guys who are now NFL scouts. But I’ve never felt particularly star struck before.

Raftery has been the college basketball voice that means the most to me. His enthusiasm for the game. The storytelling. The catchphrases still delivered with energy and perhaps a knowing wink. Actual analysis. Do I still watch Big East games simply because he’s on the call? Yes.

What sets Raftery apart from others like say Vitale or Bill Walton or other ex-players or coaches. He is only talking about the game. He doesn’t get caught up in deifying coaches or players. He will break down the plays — the good and bad — while letting the game flow. He hasn’t become a caricature of himself (Vitale, again). He doesn’t make himself bigger than the game — and never let ESPN or now FS1 do that. He’s still teaching the game, even as he is entertaining.

If I had gone up to him. All I would have wanted to do is gush and really, just say, “Thank you.”

Back to the real stuff. Raftery emceed the “Throwback Throwdown, at the Stage AE.

On more current matters, Raftery was asked about the “reputation” of Kevin Stallings, the new Pitt men’s coach who left Vanderbilt after 17 seasons. Raftery was especially impressed given Vandy’s tough admission policies.

“If I say, ‘offense,’ everybody will say he doesn’t coach defense,” he said. “I think he’s on that level of offense. He gets easy baskets. And he’s been able to do it with restrictions. I think most of the respect for him is he has a great mind for offense.”

Raftery described Pitt’s home court, Petersen Events Center, as “maybe the best building in the East” in terms of atmosphere (he said he considers Maryland to be in the South despite its Big Ten affiliation). That, he said, should help Stallings and his staff recruit the type of players who not only fit his style but might enable the Panthers to compete at a high level in the ACC.

Raftery said he does not expect Pitt to join Duke, Louisville and North Carolina among the perennially elite in the ACC but added the Panthers still can be successful, including in the postseason.

“I think you want to be good consistently, and then every couple of years, you might be good enough to where you can get to that level,” he said. “You get a break, you win a close game, you’re in a pod or bracket that works for you.”

Tough words a lot of people don’t want to hear, but he explains a little more:

Raftery, who closely watched the Panthers as they rose to prominence in the late 1980s and 2000s, believes Pitt has the potential to be great, but not in the way much of the game’s upper crust is measured.

“Nobody’s going to get there,” said Raftery, now an analyst with Fox Sports 1. “If you watch the Jordan and McDonald’s [All-American] games, there are three or four schools that have the top 23 kids. But that doesn’t mean you can’t win a championship. Look at Villanova. Look at Butler getting there a few years ago. They had tough kids, though [Utah Jazz guard Gordon] Hayward was a big-time player, as it turned out. George Mason back in ’06.

“I don’t know if you can [get to that elite level], philosophically or realistically, but it’s all about trying to get a group together that can win it all.”

It can change quickly. UConn is having success after Jim Calhoun, but they aren’t having the same presence in the top-25 that they did before. It is tough to sustain a perennial top-25 ranking.

Raftery also addressed the issue that makes the difference for teams: recruiting.

On how difficult the transition to the ACC is for a quintessential Big East team like Pitt:

“I guess the answer is the type of kids you attract and where you attract them from. It’d be great if Pittsburgh had more and better players because they would get their fair share, but I don’t know if they have that. There’s not 10 kids that could go a lot of places. That’s my guess from what I’ve been told. That hurts. Now you’ve got to find an area. Is it Philly? Is it New York? Is it Washington? That’s part of your staff makeup. [Assistant coach Kevin] Sutton is a guy that’s been around the DC area. The other kid, [assistant coach Jeremy] Ballard, has a little New York taste. That’s all the trial and error now about ‘Where do we go?’”

Judging by the recruiting for the 2017 class, Stallings and the staff still seem to be trying to figure that out.

Next weekend, as Pitt football has a bye, will be Pitt Basketball Weekend.

Panther fans will have inside access to the Pitt men’s and women’s basketball teams Oct. 22-23 at Pitt Basketball Weekend. The two-day event will allow fans to watch the teams compete on the redesigned Petersen Events Center floor prior to an on-court autograph session with the teams.

The men’s team, with six of its top seven scorers returning from a year ago, will hold an open scrimmage Saturday, Oct. 22 at 1:30 p.m. The scrimmage format will consist of three 10-minutes sessions followed by late-game situational scrimmaging. Fans in attendance will have the first look at Kevin Stallings’ up-tempo offense. Following the scrimmage team members will sign autographs on the court, while fans will also be able to shoot free throws on Petersen Events Center hoops.

The return of seniors Jamel Artis, Sheldon Jeter,Chris Jones and Michael Young give the Panthers one of the most experienced teams in the ACC. Young earned third team All-ACC honors a year ago after averaging 15.7 points and 6.9 rebounds per game, while Artis, a third team all-league pick in 2015, contributed 14.4 points, 4.8 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game. Pitt is the only team in the ACC with two returning all-conference performers.

Doors to Petersen Events Center will open at 1 p.m. The Pitt Team Store and concessions stands will also be open throughout the event.

The women’s team will host fans at an open practice Sunday, Oct. 23 at noon. Hall of Fame coach Suzie McConnell-Serio, in her fourth season at the helm of the women’s program, will lead her team through a complete practice at the PEC. Pitt returns its top two scorers in sophomore Brenna Wise (10.7 ppg.) and junior Yacine Diop (10.4 ppg.), while welcoming three newcomers in true freshmen guards Jasmine Whitney and Alayna Gribble, as well as DePaul graduate transfer center Brandi Harvey-Carr. Following the practice, the team will sign autographs on the court and fans will also able to shoot free throws on the main court at the PEC.

Finally, last week I noted that Pitt’s tempo will likely be a bit faster but less efficient on offense. Craig Meyer the beat writer for the P-G for Pitt basketball, ran his own numbers and concurs.

So what to take from all of this and how it relates to Pitt? It’s almost certain, given Stallings’ background, that the Panthers will play faster this season, but between their taller lineup and the pace at which the team is used to playing, I don’t know if it will be a seismic change.

If anything, the numbers (and history) show Pitt, if it follows the average of the recent trend, will be a marginally speedier if slightly less efficient team.

The more you know.