false equivalence. you need a decent 400 time to get the mile done. to get on pace, and then to have some cushion to fade a little on splits. my experience many of the folks who can't break 5 are the ones with no foot speed. which shows up in quarter and 800 times. i assume some bright HS/college coach could tell us precisely where that crossover is, how fast some kid needs to be at the intermediate distances to then make a 5 minute mile.
but the second half is intellectual rubbish. i was a sprinter/hurdler who dabbled in XC. i could run you a mile well sub 5. i was the top few milers at my school, even though i raced shorter. i could go with the lead XC pack for a mile if i wanted. what i struggled with was extending it out to 5k. i think the best distance runners, the endurance to keep going might matter, but to get a single mile under 5, no, bull, i think you don't need more than 20-22 type 5k speed. one lap in 5, two jogging laps in 8 or so. that's about what my first distance running looked like when i was already under 5.