Clear Lake Falconhoops

When photos are provided for a varsity game I receive as few as 1 or as many as 400 photos. Sometimes I receive photos from more than one person. Sometimes I receive none. Every photo I receive is reviewed and evaluated by me almost always within 24 hours after the game.

I try to choose from 3 to 10 of the very best photos for a particular game to display on this website.  Limiting the number is necessary because of the amount of my time required per photo to get them onto the website. 

I look for photos depicting classic examples of basketball action such as dribbling, rebounding, shooting and defense with special emphasis on teamwork and form. I especially favor photos that demonstrate what I regard as the best form in terms of basketball skill but I do not eliminate photos because of bad form. The majority of photos I receive are usually centered around offense and shooting the ball which is to be expected but it makes it more difficult to choose other activities since there are fewer  from which to choose. 

My goal is to feature each player equally with emphasis on the seniors. I do not consider who the player is when choosing what I regard as the best action photos and I do not favor the player who had the most outstanding performance in the game being addressed. This is because there is often no correlation between the best player on a given night and the best photos received on a given night.  Of course there will tend to be more photos of a highly active player based on the expectations of the photographer.

I do not favor one player over another. I am simply looking for what I regard as among the best photographs based on what is depicted in the photo combined with my somewhat limited knowledge of photography.

When there are more than a dozen really outstanding photos to choose from I try to balance them across all players with an equal number featuring each player with emphasis on the seniors. This is not as easy as it sounds though. There will usually be more good photos of one player rather than an equal number of good ones of each player. That is the only reason why more photos for a game of a particular player will appear on the website. It is not because I favor one player over another.

As a season progresses typically one player might have a disproportionate number of photos featured. I try to maintain awareness of this and I will ask the photographer to try to get  more of certain other players to help balance things out. Sometimes this helps.

One season there was a senior who, at the end of the season, had only one useable photo for the entire season despite our best efforts to try to get more.

The process of selecting which photos are featured on the website is very time consuming and is often done during the wee hours of the morning so I often make another review of the photos to assure I did not overlook an even better photo than one I had previously chosen for the website so you might see the photos change between their inital appearance and the final version.

I do not take a casual approach to selecting the photos and I try very much to avoid showing any preferential treatment toward one player.

Name: Matt McCollum
Birthday: July 28, 1991
Jersey number: 11
Elementary school attended: Ed White Elementary
Intermediate school attended: Seabrook Intermediate
Number of years playing school basketball: 6
Graduating Class of 2009

Favorite subject: Basketball
Fave teacher: Mrs. Huggler, Ms. Heep, Ms. Byrd
Favorite NBA or college player(s):
Favorite book: A Game of Thrones
Last book I read for fun: A Feast for Crows

Favorite food: Jack in the Box tacos
Fave dessert: Mrs. Ashton's chocolate covered peanuts

A food I won't touch is.....pickles
Favorite movie of all time: Dude, Where Is My Car
My must-see TV show: That 70's Show

Hobbies: none
Other sports or school activities I participate in: BBQ Club
What makes me laugh is....Kyle Ashton
My family says that I am: :)
If I could change one thing about basketball I would .....take away suicides and horses
The best player I have ever played with (or against) is ....Jarred Hardage
Person I would most like to meet (dead or alive): Mrs. Caton
What I like most about Clear Lake High School is Lynn McDonald
I would like to attend college at: Texas A&M
My plans after high school are: go to college
What I would like for people to remember about me: my picture on the schedule card