Nate Robinson was the first to depart, followed by Brandon Roy, then Jon Brockman and now Quincy Pondexter.
It's seemingly become a yearly task Washington coach Lorenzo Romar must undertake, trying to find the replacement for one of the greatest players in school history.
''In order to sustain the program when your big guns leave, someone is there that is going to take their place,'' Romar said.
No. 18 Washington is back in the position of yet again needing to replace its best player entering the 2010-11 season. And despite the departure of Pondexter - the Huskies' all-Pac-10, do-everything forward - Washington is the overwhelming favorite to win the conference, the preseason choice for the first time since the poll has been conducted.
Perhaps its a further affirmation of a downturn in the Pac-10 that Washington can lose a clutch star like Pondexter and still be the league favorite. Washington wasn't just a slight choice to be champs; it received 33 of 35 first-place votes in the media poll.
But expectations at Washington are perhaps higher than ever. The Huskies are coming off an unlikely run to the round of 16 in last year's NCAA tournament and, while Pondexter is now playing in the NBA, there is a talented core of Huskies returning.
As Romar likes to point out, when he arrived in 2001, just making the NCAA tournament was cause for celebration. Now it's just the first step.
''People are upset we didn't make it past the Sweet 16. That wasn't the case when we first got here,'' Romar said.
Washington's optimism centers around its remarkable depth. Pondexter was the only senior lost from last year's team that lost to West Virginia in the regional semifinals, although it also lost forward Clarence Trent and key swingman Elston Turner to transfers.
But what returns, especially at the top of the offense and in the post, is what makes Washington such a favorite.
Thomas averaged 16.9 points as part of his first-team all-Pac-10 sophomore campaign, but it was his willingness to share that was at the core of Washington's late run a year ago. Combined with center Matthew Bryan-Amaning finally matching his potential, Washington rolled through its final four Pac-10 games before winning the conference tournament and an automatic NCAA bid.
For some, Thomas is a potential preseason player of the year in the conference. Despite only being a junior, he understands he's the one not only called on for taking the big shot, but also the one to step into Pondexter's role of providing direction.
''You're going to hear everything, but if we play hard and play together and gel, we can beat anybody,'' Thomas said. ''The main goal is to win the national championship, that is what everybody's goal is, but we've got to go out and do what we really know we can do.''
Thomas is joined on the perimeter by defensive pest Venoy Overton and sophomore point guard Abdul Gaddy, who arrived as a freshman with great hype, then struggled with the transition to the college game.
The trio is undersized, though, and the Huskies make up for it with a wealth of length on the wings. Justin Holiday is Washington's best all-around player and one of five between 6-foot-5 and 6-foot-7 who can provide the ability to score from the outside or play on the interior.
''I don't think we're going to look at it like we're trying to replace (Pondexter),'' Holiday said. ''We're going to look at it and see what we have and go with what we have.''
While Thomas' sharing was key to the Huskies run last season, so too was the emergence of Bryan-Amaning. Praised for having loads of talent, the 6-foot-9 native of London averaged 11.8 points and 7.5 rebounds the final 14 games of last season.
To no surprise, the Huskies went 11-3 during that stretch.
Bryan-Amaning is joined in the post by 6-8 forward Darnell Gant and one of the Huskies big curiosities in 7-foot transfer Aziz N'Diaye. A native of Senegal, N'Diaye arrived at Washington after playing at the College of Southern Idaho.
Washington will get a very quick test of where it stands from a national standpoint. After opening with McNeese State on Nov. 13 and hosting Eastern Washington three days later, the Huskies head for the Maui Invitational. They'll open against Virginia and former nemesis coach Tony Bennett, then face Oklahoma or Kentucky in the next round.
Washington also faces Texas Tech, Texas A&M and Nevada during its non-conference slate before beginning Pac-10 play Dec. 29 at USC. But the allure of Maui has brought an added focus to the Huskies' preseason prep.
''It's going to be fun, especially early. People didn't know about us until the NCAA tournament last year,'' Thomas said. ''Now, the Maui Invitational ... everybody is going to be watching. They're going to hear about us earlier.''
