This Tri-Cities basketball team is about to take on the nation

The Tri-Cities will be represented in a big way this week at the Special Olympics USA Games in Seattle.

In men's basketball, the Tri-City All-Stars — and its 7-foot-2-inch center — will take on the rest of the nation in the traditional bracket at the games.

It's the fourth holding of the USA Games, but it's the All-Stars' first. They'll be playing as Team Washington.

"These guys were pretty good when I got here," said coach Ken Martinson, who is in his fourth year with the team. "This team is so high-functioning. I'm just trying to get them to play a little more under control."

Opening ceremonies are at 12:30 p.m. Sunday at Husky Stadium at University of Washington, and action gets under way Monday at various sites in and around the Seattle area. Admission is free.

The All-Stars won a gold medal in a state event last year, then were selected from a pool of other gold medal teams to compete at the USA Games.

It won't be hard to find Team Washington on the court. The team features 7-foot-2-inch, 330-pound center John Crandall, 31, and his smaller, albeit older, brother Robert, 41, who is 6 feet 6 inches tall.

"This is my 14th year with the team, but this is the first time going to the Games," said Robert, a five-year Army veteran who suffers from PTSD.

The team is fortunate to have John Crandall back on the floor after two knee surgeries that sidelined him for quite some time.

"He has a release from the doctor, but we will use him on a limited basis and see how he does," Martinson said.

Also adding size to the lineup is 6 foot-3-inch Jeremy Albers, who played football at Pasco in the early 1990s.

Running the floor is guard James Gerhard, who is the youngest member of the team at 22.

"I found out about the team through my brother Leo, and I signed up," said Gerhard, who has ADHD. "I've been on this team for five years. It's super cool. I think we should do well, especially with our speed and size."

Gerhard's teammates say he never stops.

"He and his brother don't know slow," Robert Crandall said.

But they do know basketball.

"I'm fast and I find the open man," Gerhard said. "We mix a little street ball in there, but we need to strategize and be patient."

Team Washington will play its first game at 8 a.m. Monday against Maryland. On Tuesday, it will play Illinois at 8 a.m., and Wisconsin at 3:30 p.m. The medal rounds are Wednesday and Thursday.