The year Baylor won the tournament, there were some outrageously good offenses and some outrageously good defenses that made runs in the tournament. When I watched the really good offenses, it was apparent that they just had players that were better than ours and capable of doing things (shooting or driving) that our players couldn't do as well.
But, when watching the really good defenses, they didn't seem to do anything we couldn't. They weren't good because they were making absurd athletic plays coming out of nowhere to block shots from behind or anything like that. They just moved their feet, were engaged and focused, kept their hands active, hustled, and were in the right spot at the right time. And without ever seeing a highlight reel defensive play, you would see a defense that made everything hard on the other team.
What that told me is that we don't need the best 5 guys who ever played the game to be a good defensive team. We just need a group of solid guys who are coached to do the right things and willing to do them.