Houston Star Joseph Tugler is Changing Positions
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Houston Cougars basketball will be making a positional change for the upcoming 2026-27 season. The Cougars needed to reload their team after four starters from last year moved on.
Houston added a lot of talent from the transfer portal that almost perfectly fits its kind of culture. The latest addition, senior guard Chendall Weaver from Texas last week, was a surprise, but another ideal fit. The Cougars look like they could be a very physical team this upcoming season, and more on brand for how they typically play under coach Kelvin Sampson.
Senior forward Joseph Tugler was the only returning starter for Houston, and he has been at the five (center) position for his entire career at Houston. Sampson announced in his Zoom call to the media that Tugler will be moving positions to the four (power forward) this season.
Here’s more on why Sampson made that decision and how Tugler can adjust to that.
Tugler is No Longer the Center
Houston has two guys who can play the five (center) position. Sampson hinted that Delrecco Gillespie will now be the starting center for Houston. The senior transfer from Kent State was one of the biggest adds from the portal, as he averaged a double-double of 17.7 points and 11.3 rebounds per game last season.
Gillespie is entering his fifth season of college basketball and is listed at 6-foot-8 and 230 pounds. That’s the exact same height and weight listed for Tugler as well. Both play bigger than their height.
Sampson said that Gillespie has played the five his whole life, while Tugler has never played the four. One player had to move, and it was Tugler.
“JoJo has the ability to see three or four things happening at once and make the right decision…A kid like JoJo defensively sees the play as it happens and can anticipate what the next play is,” Sampson said.
This isn’t the first time that a Houston player had to move positions. Sampson went into detail about how J’Wan Roberts had to move from the four to the five when the Cougars had Jarace Walker in 2022-23. It’s all about the ability to process information and see the floor that can allow someone to be effective in this kind of switch.
Tugler has the same capability. That’s the reason why it was decided that Tugler would move positions. Having spent the past three years in this defensive system may have also played a role in the move, knowing that it might be easier for him to adjust.
“We evaluate based on how you can process the play. So that's what this summer has done for Jojo. It's allowed him to practice being a 4-man. It's allowed him to see plays from a different position. He's not always the rim protector. Sometimes he's the crackback guy. Sometimes he's the stunt guy. When you're at the five, you don't do any of those things,” Sampson said.
This physical front-court duo will be fun to watch in this Houston system. This is the first offseason summer that Tugler has been healthy. It has given him the opportunity to really grow and improve in a number of aspects. Houston is a development program, and he can take a big step now.
Sampson mentioned that Tugler’s jump hook is “fine” and his shooting has “improved”. Most of Sampson’s focus has been on this transition, knowing Tugler is like the quarterback of Houston’s vaunted defense.
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Maanav Gupta is a staff writer for Houston Cougars on SI. He graduated from the University of Houston in the summer of 2025 with his bachelor’s in journalism and a minor in Spanish. Gupta spent three years at the student newspaper, The Daily Cougar, and also covered the 2025 Final Four and National Championship as Houston beat writer for College Basketball Review. He also has his own YouTube channel, Maanav’s Sports Talk, where he has interviewed professional athletes and broadcasters like Jim Nantz, Jose Altuve, J.J. Watt, Rich Eisen, and Alperen Sengun. Gupta was also a contributor to the Houston athletic program as a student. You can find Gupta on X, Instagram and TikTok @MGSportsTalk.