JoJo Tugler’s Defensive Drive, Authentic Nature Make Him a Unique NBA Draft Prospect

After his father passed, Joseph Tugler realized he could confide in God about everything. With a faith as strong as his self-belief, he refuses to put a ceiling on what he can accomplish in life.

“Ain't no limits. None,” Tugler told Babcock Hoops in an exclusive phone interview. There ain't no limit. It's in your head. It's all up in your head. It's about how strong your head is, your mind is. I just know I ain't got no limit.”

Growing up in Monroe, Louisiana, Tugler’s friends and older twin sisters, Alexar and Elaxar, started calling him JoJo when he was eight. He remembers intense, competitive games on the court against “Peaches” and “Pumpkin” in his grandma’s front yard.

The sibling pair starred at Carroll High School, winning a state championship as seniors and McDonald’s All-American nominees. Both stayed home and played college basketball at the University of Louisiana Monroe for four years.

“They push me hard,” Tugler said. “I've seen what they've been through and what they did. They know what I've been through and what I can get to, what I can do. So I would say they just push me, tell me there ain't no limit to what I can do, and I can go way harder, way farther than what they're doing.”

Tugler keeps his circle tight and his interests light. In addition to his sisters, he’s extremely close to his mother, Brenda, and his girlfriend, Jaiden. Add in his financial advisor and his agent, Travis King of The Familie, and that’s all he needs. He likes to play with his dog, hop on the occasional video game, and sleep.

“Taking every day, beating every day, getting better every day,” Tugler said. “Something small. That's what my passion is. My girl pushes me. Everybody. My family. I'm passionate about a lot of stuff.”

After moving to Houston, Texas, following his eighth-grade year, Tugler made his name at Cypress Falls High School. A four-star recruit, a top-100 prospect in the nation, and a top-10 player in the state, he made his mark as an upperclassman and earned the attention of many top college programs.

Tugler wound up choosing Houston over Texas, TCU, SMU, Kansas State, and Tulsa. Fast-forward to today, and he’s going into his junior year with the Cougars. 

“JoJo is one of the most unique people and players I’ve coached in my career,” Houston head coach Kelvin Sampson told Babcock Hoops. “Uniquely honest, loves life and people. Amazing teammate. Talented in all areas that impact winning. 

“Every day is Christmas morning for Jo. He loves life and lights up the room. Sleeps in film sessions, but I love him so much, I don’t care. He’s allowed. Coaching 101: one eye open, one ear closed. He has a point guard mentality in that he makes everyone’s job easier.”

Houston head coach Kelvin Sampson with JoJo Tugler.

The 6-foot-8, 230-pound forward with a southern charm characterizes himself as lighthearted: “I'm funny. I don't know how to explain it. I’m goofy. I make jokes.”

“Jo is authentic! If he’s in a playful or silly mood, he’s goofy,” added Kellen Sampson, Houston’s lead assistant and Kelvin’s son. “If he’s in work mode, he’s focused. There's no guessing, though. He’s always on one hundred.”

Earning Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year honors and the Lefty Driesell Award as the nation’s top defender, Tugler also made the All-Conference Third Team as a sophomore.

He averaged 5.5 points, 5.9 rebounds, 1.9 blocks, and a steal in just over 21 minutes per game. According to Basketball Reference, Tugler led the country in Defensive Box Plus-Minus (7.5) and Defensive Rating (87.0).

“That's just me being who I am,” Tugler said. “Going out there, whoever I'm playing against, every game, I just hate getting beat. It's just a chip on your shoulder. You just want to out-compete your opponent. It's me wanting to be the best at what I do and what God’s been giving me. Just doing the best I can do for my team. That's how I be out there feeling.

“I ain't cappin'. I don't be looking at it,” Tugler added on those individual accolades. “I'm just gonna play hard. But that's a good goal for me to set, Defensive [Player] of the Year and Third [Team] and stuff, so it's gonna make me go harder for sure. I know I was able to get it; I wasn't even really like targeting it or nothing. But shoot, I'mma go hard. I'mma go hard for it this year.”

Kellen admires his mind on that end of the floor.

“Jo is unique in that he knows his own strengths and weaknesses better than anyone,” he said. “He’ll look at how some people guard things and know that doesn’t apply to him because he’s going to do it Jo’s way – and it almost always works out.”

This past April, the Cougars made it to the NCAA Tournament men’s championship to take on the Florida Gators. With a solid start to the game defensively, forcing nine turnovers and holding Walter Clayton Jr. scoreless through one half, Houston led by as many as 12 after a big run coming out of the locker room.

Houston’s JoJo Tugler finishes strong at the rim.

“It was fun. Going out there on that court, looking around, you see people looking at you from every angle. It was so crazy,” Tugler said. “Sh**, everybody seeing your every move, but it was fun. You couldn't hear nothing. I'm talking for no reason. They can't even hear my coverage call. 

“But shoot, it was fun out there, I ain't gonna cap. It was just lit. It just brought it all out of you, your energy. You're gonna give it your hundred out there on that floor if you was out there.”

It became a back-and-forth affair once the Gators started making their shots, trading buckets throughout the final eight minutes. Unfortunately, but to their credit, Clayton found his jump shot and Florida stuck with it to pull out the win in a battle of the top seeds, 65-63. 

Having never gone that far before, Tugler was happy and enjoyed the experience. He had so much fun that he wasn’t even bothered by his surgically-repaired right foot, a logical reason why he “didn’t have it” that night.

“I knew I had so much [to give],” Tugler said. “Man, I wasn't near my ceiling. I'm nowhere near my ceiling. It just wasn't my time right there at that moment.”

Just 14 months after his first procedure to heal a fracture that prematurely ended his freshman season, Tugler underwent another operation on the same foot this past June.

“This is my second time going through this,” Tugler said. “Going through your second surgery gonna make me go even harder 'cause you know what you expect and the pain you're going through. You know you've got to sit down longer this time 'cause you don't want it to happen again if you've already been through it. 

“So that'll be going through your head, too. But I got it checked on. It looked good. I'm good. It's just me going through pain. I've been out for six months. I'd say it's at 95 [percent]. I'm like 95. I'm getting there. I can stand up on it; I just can't get that jump out of it. That's it. I can move on it; I just can't get that jump.”

Kelvin lauds Tugler for the way he’s handled the same setback in consecutive seasons.

“Jo has kept the best attitude and spirit about his injuries,” he said. “The first one wasn’t that big of a shock. He has been in pain a while. The second one was a total shock, and he didn’t believe it at first. But he always made it super easy on everyone around him because you never saw him down or in the dumps about it. Always just said, ‘It is what it is, man.’”

Playing under the legendary Sampson, Tugler knows he must be ready to come early to everything. Practices are competitive from the jump, just like a game setting.

“You're right at it,” Tugler described. “Honestly, he just helps me push it, going out there every day at practice. Look at it as every day, it's time to get better.”

Falling two points short in the national title game, Houston is craving that stage again, particularly Tugler and his older teammates. Starting the road back, the team was in New Orleans on Friday to face Ole Miss in a scrimmage that the Rebels reportedly won.

Three days before the matchup, Tugler told Babcock Hoops that the Cougars have looked good this offseason but acknowledged their youth. He knows what Houston will get with returning seniors Emanuel Sharp and Milos Uzan, as well as those who have been a part of the high standard the program has set.

As for the next crop of Cougars, he’s eager to find out how they respond in the big moments.

“I've been here three years. I know way more than them,” Tugler said. “Freshmen don't know nothing at all. They don't know nothing. I think I'm a vet. I'm teaching them what I know. They can't do certain stuff. Everybody ain't the same. You've got to do what you can do. 

“Make it like you. I made it how I made mines, you know? I made it for me. So I was telling 'em, giving 'em all the insights on it. But they've got to go out there and just play hard. It's all up to you to play hard. Start your own engine. Don't let coach start your engine for you. Come in there with a mindset. Don't come in there with no 'days off' mindset. There's never a day off.”

It helps that he has a good relationship with freshman guard Bryce Jackson, an old AAU teammate from Houston Hoops.

“He’s seen me. He watched my grow-up too, my come-up, and I watched his come-up,” Tugler said. “It'll be fun teaching 'em what I learned from the guys who came by before me, came through before me.”

Aside from winning a national championship, Tugler’s ultimate goal is to be an NBA player. He wants to be on that screen. All it should take, in his eyes, is incremental improvement: ‘Just getting a little better every day. I don't need to get too much better. I just need to get a little better every day.”

“Some might say Tugler is only 6-foot-8 and doesn’t impact the offensive end enough. Well, I see it differently,” NBA Draft analyst Matt Babcock contends. “Sure, he’s only 6-foot-8, but he has a 7-foot-6 wingspan. Houston’s team defense last season was one of the best I’ve ever seen, and I felt Tugler was the key part of it.

“He brings a ton of physicality, covers so much ground, and plays so dang hard. Combining all those things allows him to make so much happen on the defensive end. But most importantly, he sets the tone. He’s the enforcer. JoJo Tugler is the type of player and guy I’d want on my team, and it's as simple as that.”

If an NBA franchise wants to draft Tugler, it will be getting somebody who makes his presence felt as soon as he walks into the building. 

“Jo has zero insecurities and loves to be coached,” Kellen said. “He’s the most genuine guy I’ve ever been around, and his honesty is both brutal and refreshing.”

“You know I'mma talk a lot, so you're gonna get energy,” Tugler added. “You're gonna know I'm there. You're gonna know I'm there every day in practice. You're gonna get it all out of me every night. I'mma come with it. I'mma make sure I out-compete my opponent. He ain't gonna out-compete me.”