Paul Landreaux learned early in his career - when the phone rings answer it.
While working at Los Angeles Trade Tech, he received a call from Ron Jacobs. Jacobs was the El Camino head coach whom Landreaux worked with at Morningside High School. Jacobs announced to Landreaux that he was leaving his post with the college and was accepting a position at Loyal Marymount. He encouraged Landreaux to apply for the job. After several interviews, Landreaux was named Warriors head coach. He instantaneously made an impact.
Landreaux spent 28 years at El Camino College over two periods, leading the Warriors to three state championships, while compiling a 290-48 record.
During his first season as head coach, El Camino went 11-1 in conference capturing the Metro Conference Title - the first of many. The following season, 1980-81, Landreaux's team finished in second-place, but managed to win the school's first ever state championship. His teams in 1985 and 1988 also won state championships. The titles came during a period of transition for the game with the introduction of the shot clock and the addition of the three-point line.
Through it all, Landreaux and his teams adjusted.
He earned his first state title in 1981 by employing a 1-2-2 zone defense that simply baffled other teams and set a national record of allowing his opponents just 42.8 points per game. Four years later in 1985, his team played man-to-man defense and won a second state title. With no player over 6-foot-4, he earned his third championship in 1988 with a high-powered scoring team that averaged more than 80 points per game.
Landreaux, who also coached at Los Angeles Trade Tech early in his career, won nearly 300 games in his first 10 years as a head coach at the community college level. He developed four California Community College state players of the year in Jackie Fleury (1981), Ontario Johnson (1984), Mark Wade (1985) and Charles White (1988). He also coached 10 Metro Conference and South Coast Conference players of the year.
Though Landreaux loved winning, he cared about his players. He preached the importance of having a proper education to his student athletes. "You are a student first and an athlete second," he would tell players, many of whom earned full scholarships and went on to graduate from four-year institutions.
After winning the coveted William Russell Award, state coach of the year award three times and being selected the conference coach of the year six times, Landreaux accepted an assistant position at UCLA. In the early 70's, he assisted Jim Harrick at Morningside High School and, after a phone call, he left El Camino to coach alongside Harrick at UCLA. After one year, Landreaux secured the Head Coaching position at St. Mary's College where he coached for two years.
It was an earlier phone call that launched Landreaux on his coaching career. While teaching elementary school and assisting, Landreaux received a call from his alma mater, Compton College. He quickly accepted an assistant position with Al Cherry. In 1974, Landreaux assisted Caldwell Black at Los Angeles Southwest College and later with Gary Colson at Pepperdine University in Malibu. In 1978, another phone call led to him being offered the head coaching job at Los Angeles Trade Technical College. In his first season, Landreaux went 27-6, leading the team to its first conference championship.
In 2004, he retired from coaching due to health concerns and in 2007, retired from his teaching position. On August 22, 2016, Landreaux passed away.