Knicks (open) practice notes: Everybody loves Willy Hernangomez

The New York Knicks followed up Saturday night’s preseason game with a special open practice Sunday morning, Though he has been gone many years, I still feel the subconscious urge to throw in a “uh-oh, Sunday morning J.R. Smith” joke.

The announced attendance was 8,729 ... for an practice. I gotta hand it to ya, Knicks fans.

Here’s a link to the practice. It comes in two videos. The second one contains the scrimmage, though the sound is a little wonky. Hey, if you’re willing to watch two hours of of footage of basketball players practicing, these are the things you gotta deal with sometimes.

Herb Williams and Earl Monroe were in the house:

Kristaps Porzingis (sore groin) didn’t participate in the scrimmage, but he hopes to play Wednesday.

Knicks coaches and players continued to sing the praises of Willy Hernangomez, according to Ian Begley, with Jeff Hornacek saying, “We’ve got to find him some minutes. He deserves it.”

And here’s Carmelo Anthony:

“I like the big baby. He’s a guy who can score, he can pass, he can play D. He can do it all. I try to not make comparisons, but I see a lot of Marc Gasol in him. That’s a great sign because Marc is a great player. So for him to have the skills knowing that he has at his age, it’s something special.”

Even Brandon Jennings got into the act, albeit through Twitter:

Comparing Willy to a former Defensive Player of the Year is brutally unfair, but it’s nice to see the vets and coaches praising Willy, who has has a strong preseason. Willy deserves your love!