Know Thy Self - A look at Devin Harris

Continuing the Know Thy Self series, where we meet the roster of the 2012-2013 Atlanta Hawks, we take a look at Devin Harris. I'm not completely sure how the fast veteran guard will be used in the rotation, but that doesn't stop us from getting to know Devin.

Devin Lamar Harris

Twitter: DevinHarris5, but he hasn't tweeted since before the trade

Nickname: None really, although they've tried to assign one to him for years with the closest to success being "The Blur".

Born: 2/27/1983 in Milwaukee, WI

Milwaukee might not be Josh Smith's favorite city but it is the birthplace of Devin Harris. I'm sure everyone knows Milwaukee for "Fear the Deer", but we want to go deeper. Younger readers might not realize this but Milwaukee was the heart of the sitcom universe in the 70s as the location for both Happy Days and Laverne & Shirley. The city of Milwaukee has a thing for statues with over 75 statues honoring all sorts of famous people including Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King Jr, Leif Ericson, and the Fonz. It is also a musical hot spot known for their long running festival called Summerfest. In terms of famous musicians, I would like to call out 2 in particular, Les Paul, the inventor of the solid-body electric guitar that is the heart of the rock and roll sound, and Steve Miller, who spoke of the pompatus of love.

College: Wisconsin

Yep, Devin Harris is a Badger. He was the 5th pick of the 2004 draft, right before Josh Childress, technically to Washington. He never played for the Wizards as he was traded with former Hawk Christian Laettner and future, former Hawk Jerry Stackhouse to Dallas for Antawn Jamison. Wisconsin (Madison) has a extremely long list of famous alumni, so long that they even have famous fictional alumni on their Wikipedia page, like Andrew Shepherd who was President in the film "The American President." I'd like to give a nod to astronaut Jim Lovell of Apollo 13 fame. In terms of athletes there are a lot to choose from including Chris Chelios, the long time hockey star. For most famous, I give it to Bud Selig as commissioner of Major League Baseball. If you expand it to sort of sports, two other Wisconsin grads get special mention for dominating their fields: Bill Kazmaier, a mainstay of the World's Strongest Man competitions that were an ESPN staple back in the 80s, and Phil Helmuth, the poker brat, a star of the poker competitions that are an ESPN staple now.

Personal Notes: Devin Harris is in the Guinness Book of World Records as the fastest man with a basketball traversing the length of the court in 3.9 seconds in 2009. Impressive for someone emerging from the lands of cheese, sausage, and beer. In 2001, he was the Wisconsin Mr. Basketball. Devin was all-conference in high school volleyball the one season he played. Devin Harris might really help fill the void left by Joe Johnson in that he reportedly owns over 400 pair of sneakers.

ESPN Top 500 rank: 108 just behind Avery Bradley (106) and Shane Battier (107), but just ahead of Jeff Teague (109t) and Wesley Matthews (109t).

Wingspan: 79.5"

basketball-reference.com sponsorship price: $70 - think of this as a Q-rating for basketball. Better known players have hiring rates because in theory their stat page will get visited more often.

Horoscope: As an Pisces I found this free sports horoscope for the year: Physical problem may restrict exhibition of optimum performance in the latter part of the year; however will not be too serious to be worried. You seek this year spontaneously to exceed you, on your capacities and your results, especially. You will have in heart to bait you on details in order to gain in control on the great aspects.

Chinese Zodiac: Born in the year of the pig. People born in the Year of the Pig are honest and frank, chivalrous and gallant. They have a calm appearance and strong heart. They do whatever they want with their strength. They are tolerant and optimistic, but not until they become your friends can their virtue, advantages and fidelity to friendship be appreciated. They are quick tempered, but hate arguments and quarreling. Although they are loyal to friends, they do not have many friends. They are hot-tempered and impulsive. They are not good at communicating with others. If they play pranks on people, they will not know when to stop.

Outlook for this year: This dragon year is not ideal for people under the pig sign, from career and finance to love and health. They will meet troubles within the family, which should be dealt first. Their wishes may go against. They should find the chance to make breakthrough out of stability.

Workplace Compatibility:
Work best with horses (none on roster) and dragons (Jeff Teague, Mike Scott)
Not so good with goats (John Jenkins), snakes (James Anderson), and rabbits (Damion James)

Stats: This block is a combination of data from basketball-reference.com and 82games.com to give an idea of the playing style and effectiveness of a player.

Quick Analysis: A solid offense threat ranking in the upper half in almost every category. Considered a score first PG he's developed into an adequate playmaker for others. A little high on the turnover rate indicating that maybe he plays too fast. Biggest weakness is probably his rebounding which could hurt if he plays much off-guard. Penetrates and gets to the line frequently (for reference more than twice as often as Joe Johnson). Okay free throw shooter, but not excellent. A former all-star he's had trouble fitting into changing systems the last couple years. The rankings are out of 478 players listed on basket-reference.com for last season with no qualifying minimums to provide some context for the numbers.

Hopefully, you feel you know a little more about Devin Harris than before. Let me know what you think in your comments. What role do you think Devin will fill with the Hawks? Is his ESPN rating fair? His points were down last year, trend or just his situation? Do you wish that you held a world record?