The Washington Huskies are the clear cut favorite to win the Pac-10 in 2010-11 for a number a reasons. For starters, they have a long-standing coach with a tradition of winning, they have perhaps the best remaining player in the conference after all of last season’s departures and they bring in to the program one of the highest-ranked recruits in the entire conference.

Combine all that with the fact that they made the NCAA Sweet 16 last year and you have your case for a contender.

Though the Huskies will no doubt feel the absence of Quincy Pondexter (now a New Orleans Hornet), head coach Lorenzo Romar will far from concede this season to a rebuilding year. In his eight years with the Huskies, Romar has led the team to five NCAA Tournament berths and three Sweet 16s.

Coming off of an 11-7 Pac-10 season in which they won the Conference Tournament, the Huskies should be ready to go… so long as junior Isaiah Thomas is ready to take on the role of team leader. Last year the 5′8″ Thomas averaged 16.9 points and 3.2 assists per game, this time he’ll get around that and more, potentially earning Player of the Year honors for the conference. It’s hard not to be in consideration as the best player on what will surely go down as one of the best clubs in the conference.

But Washington isn’t content just being in contention for the top spot in the conference, so they decided to go out and sign big name recruit Terrence Ross. The 6′6″ small forward will join the club ranked No. 30 in ESPN’s Top 100 high school recruits, providing insurance for the Huskies on the wing.

With a solid supporting cast in seniors Matthew Bryan-Amaning and Venoy Overton, Romar, Thomas and Ross should have just what they need to make some noise when the NCAA Tournament rolls around next spring.