Maybe because growing up in a town of 600 can't prepare someone for celebrity. Maybe because this has all happened so fast.

"I'm living a dream," Stiles said. "Words can't describe what I'm going through."

The past two months have seen Stiles transformed from Kansan folk hero to national treasure. From tiny Claflin, Kan., by way of Southwest Missouri State University, she has become the most recognizable women's basketball player in the country, the most prolific scorer the college game has ever seen.

Friday, the Portland Fire chose Stiles with the No. 4 pick in the WNBA draft.

"I could stand up here and tell Jackie Stiles stories all night," Portland coach and general manager Linda Hargrove said.

Hargrove might have to take a number.

There are so many Stiles stories that stories isn't even the right word. It's Stiles lore, and it all begins in Claflin.

For a geographical reference, consider this: If Kansas were named nowhere, Claflin would be smack in the middle of it.

Population estimates range from 600 to a little more than 700, but Stiles said it's closer to 600.

Not only isn't there a mall, there isn't a stoplight.

"Everybody knows everybody," Stiles said, "and what everybody's doing."

Stiles was playing basketball. She was always playing basketball.

She used to dribble a basketball to and from school.

In high school, her workouts became legendary.

After breaking her wrist in a game during her sophomore season, she started playing left-handed.

After tearing the cast off her arm weeks before her doctors wanted it off, she began making 1,000 shots a day. Not taking. Making.

"I was determined to be better than I was before the injury," Stiles said.

And the legend grew.

There began a rumor that her family had a gymnasium in its home. It didn't, but Stiles' father, Pat, is Claflin High School athletic director, so Stiles had a key to the school's facilities.

She would arrive at 6:30 a.m., work out, go to class, go to practice and stay. It just was easier to have her lock up.

For added conditioning Stiles ran track and cross country -- and won 14 state titles.

On the court, however, she had become the kind of attraction that drew people from all over the state.

There was the night Stiles scored 71 points in a game. She had other games of 53 points and 61 points. The 61 points came in just 17 minutes. Her senior season she averaged 46.4 points per game. There were nights opposing teams would send all five players to guard her, and still she set the state scoring record with 3,603 career points.

Of course, there were the naysayers. There always are. The ones who said, yes, she can score, but she is doing it at the lowest level of basketball.

They'd say that all through college, too. If Stiles had chose to go to Connecticut, as she nearly did, she would surely have made her name earlier. But she chose Southwest Missouri State, which is not the lowest-profile program in the country, but it sure isn't the highest.

Whatever.

Stiles just kept scoring. And scoring. And scoring.

On March 1, Stiles scored 30 points against Creighton and became the leading scorer in the history of NCAA Division I women's basketball. That got her on ESPN and CNN and in newspapers all over the country.

She's still there.

The NCAA Tournament only built on that attention. She scored 32 points against Rutgers, one of the best defensive teams in the country. Duke triple-teamed her, and she scored 41.

"She finds a way to score," Seattle Storm coach and general manager Lin Dunn said. "That's all there is to it."

Well, not really.

In her 5-foot-8 frame she has packed enough small-town charm to win over all the big towns. She became recognizable by her blond ponytail. She seems to always be smiling, and she can't find a reason to stop.

Not even Southwest Missouri State's loss to Purdue in the national semifinals could dampen her spirit for too long.

She said she has been receiving letters from complete strangers living in all corners of the country. The letters tell her she's been an inspiration.

"It's hard for me to put in perspective that people are writing me these letters," Stiles said.

Last week, Stiles returned to Claflin, which is usually a place where she can just be herself. Last week was different. Last Saturday was Jackie Stiles Day, and the phone wouldn't stop ringing. People kept knocking on the door. The hallway filled with things she needed to autograph.

The post office was offering pictorial cancellations to commemorate the occasion. The parade included a float pulled by goats bearing the sign, "Way to GOAT, Jackie."

It was estimated 5,000 people were on hand. That can overwhelm a town of 600.

"My mom said I brought the chaos home with me," Stiles said. "I'm not exaggerating, every minute there was a phone call. You can check the Caller ID."

If that doesn't speak to a town's devotion for its hero, consider this. Friday, the Fire received a number of calls from fans wondering if they will offer travel packages -- airfare, hotel, transportation and tickets -- to come see Stiles play.

The Fire just might do that.

As for Hargrove, she remembered a game before the NCAA Tournament. It was the Missouri Valley Conference tournament, and Stiles had 17 points at halftime. She finished with 47.

"I said to my husband, 'Kick me if this kid's available and we don't take her,' " Hargrove said.

The Fire took her, and the whirlwind continues.