basename does remove the directory prefix of a path:
$ basename /usr/local/svn/repos/example
example
$ echo "/server/root/$(basename /usr/local/svn/repos/example)"
/server/root/example
basename does remove the directory prefix of a path:
$ basename /usr/local/svn/repos/example
example
$ echo "/server/root/$(basename /usr/local/svn/repos/example)"
/server/root/example