Know Thy Self - A look at Ivan Johnson

Continuing the Know Thy Self series, where we meet the roster of the 2012-2013 Atlanta Hawks, we take a look at Ivan Johnson. After stints overseas and in the D-league Ivan Johnson was an intimidating standout during training camp last year. And although he didn't get to make his mark until injuries opened the door he wasn't just that scary guy at the end of the bench (that was Jerry Stackhouse). Ivan made an impact on the NBA.

Ivan W Johnson

Twitter: unknown

Nickname: 9 to 5, coined by Dominique Wilkins because of Ivan's workman style

Born: 4/10/1984 in San Antonio, TX

Most people think of San Antonio as the home of the historic Alamo or perhaps for its downtown River walk. It's technically the seventh largest city in the US, but it's metro area has around 2.2 million residents which is similar in size to Portland, Sacramento, or Orlando. Whataburger is headquartered in San Antonio. In spite of being 140 miles from the coast of Texas, San Antonio is home to a SeaWorld Water Park. Quite a few famous people come from San Antonio including beloved comedienne Carol Burnett and director Robert Rodriguez, who helmed such classics as Desperado, From Dusk Till Dawn, and Machete. In terms of music, San Antonian George Strait has 59 Number 1 hits on the Country charts. For famous athletes, it's hard to pass on Shaquille O'Neal, but you also need to give some love to wrestling hall of famer, Shawn Michaels, the Heart Break Kid.

College: 4 different schools including Oregon and Cal State San Bernardino

Ivan spent his junior year as an Oregon Duck but parted ways due to anger management issues winding up as a Coyote as Cal State San Bernardino. I feel that Ivan is the biggest athlete from CSU-SB. Another famous alumna would be Air Force Brigadier General Sandra Finan, who strangely graduated with a degree in music education.

Personal Notes: I couldn't find much off court info on Ivan, so I'll share some tidbits about his career. At Oregon, Ivan had more fouls (84) than made baskets (82). The Korean Basketball League issued a lifetime ban to Ivan Johnson for expressing himself with digits to a referee. Ivan also lead the D-league in expression as measured by technical fouls. Ivan is perhaps best known for his diamond studded grill work (teeth).

ESPN Top 500 rank: 312 just behind Raja Bell (310) and Terrence Jones (311) but just ahead of James Johnson (313) and Hamed Haddadi (314).

Wingspan: unknown

basketball-reference.com sponsorship price: unknown, because he is already sponsored - 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 Aries I found this free sports horoscope for the year: The first half of 2012 will be dismal (check). Important missions should not be kept for disposal during the last part of the year. Your inventiveness will be the one of your best assets, in the professional field, This year. You will be able to determine with a frightening precision the needs for your interlocutors and to make them coincide with your own waiting.

Chinese Zodiac: Born in the year of the rat. People under this sign are usually smart and wealthy and will work for success. They are sanguine and very adaptable, being popular with others. They do not look authoritatively, incapable of assuming a leading position. They stick fast and refused to be influenced. They are easily guided only by their private interests. They have natural goodness but look unpolite. They are also obstinate and selfish.

Outlook for this year: This dragon year would run smoothly for them. After the misfortune in the past rabbit year, they will have a very good year in 2012, especially in career and finance. Rat is one of the luckiest animal signs this year.

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

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: The stats show that Ivan isn't scared. He has a high usage rate and his numbers indicate he's a finisher. I'd like to see his inside/outside numbers go more to the inside where he is devastatingly efficient. The negative that really shows up in the numbers is his high turnover rate and low hands rating. Ivan is player who would likely benefit from a more PG creator style offense allowing him to catch the ball in position rather than driving to drive on his own. 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 Ivan Johnson than before, but not too much. Let me know what you think in your comments. What about that ESPN ranking? Will Ivan stay out of Larry Drew's dog house this year? What role do you think he'll have on the team?